Bengaluru's Victoria Hospital Opens Special Grief ICU

In the next few months, Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru will inaugurate Jeeva Spandana, a specialized non-transplant organ retrieval centre. This facility is designed to offer families of brain-dead donors a private and comfortable environment to grieve before organ retrieval, a compassionate approach aimed at increasing organ donations.

The centre will feature a dedicated four-bed ICU, separate from the main ICU, allowing family members ample time and privacy to be with their loved ones. Dr. Deepak S, medical superintendent of Victoria Hospital, stated that this ambient space will facilitate a more supportive process for grieving families.

Jeeva Spandana will also be equipped with an information kiosk and a communication centre. This communication hub will enable real-time updates on organ status to be relayed to other cities, aiding in the coordination of transplant procedures.

While organ retrieval centres were planned for 22 medical college hospitals nationwide, progress has been limited. Medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil emphasized the greater need for such centres in Bengaluru due to the high volume of kidney and liver transplants performed in the city. He confirmed no immediate plans for further centres, aside from a major multi-organ transplant hospital being developed by the Azim Premji Foundation.